HC students share their thoughts after visiting cities in the Greater Bay Area
Prof Mok Kai Meng, dean of the Honours College (HC) at UM, says, ‘To get a real sense of the rapid development of the Greater Bay Area, you just have to see it for yourself.’ Some HC students who have returned from their visits to Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Zhuhai have discovered new career opportunities in the Greater Bay Area.
Rapid Development of the Biomedical Industry
Katrina Xian, a third-year student of biomedical science, is impressed with a biomedical technology company in Guangzhou. That visit made her see the possibility of seeking career development in the Greater Bay Area after graduation. She says, ‘There aren’t many career options in Macao that would be a good match for my major, but there are many emerging companies in biomedical sciences in the Greater Bay Area, and they need talented people.’
Huang Zhongyu, another third-year student of biomedical science, hopes to see more collaborations between biomedical companies in Macao and other cities in the Greater Bay Area because he believes that will create more opportunities for college graduates. He says, ‘I have never been to Shenzhen before. But now I know that these companies have advanced technologies and fruitful results in research. This gives me a new direction. I hope to work in one of these companies.’ Huang also plans to pursue further studies in biomedical science after obtaining his bachelor’s degree.
Joy Lin, who is also a third-year student of biomedical science, still remembers the company in Zhuhai he visited earlier that specialises in stem cell research. For now, he won’t consider finding a job in the Greater Bay Area because he prefers an English working environment, but he believes that his future work will involve dealing with people from the Greater Bay Area. He says, ‘UM can provide many opportunities for biomedical science majors to experience firsthand the Greater Bay Area, and internships are a good start.’
Growing Demand for Legal Professionals
Gloria Pun, a third-year student from the Faculty of Law (FLL), says, ‘With increasing contact between Macao and other cities in the Greater Bay Area, there will emerge more and more legal issues to be addressed, in business, trade, and the flow of people, goods, and money.’ She says the FLL and the Legal Affairs Bureau jointly organise visits to mainland China on a regular basis, and as a result, she has met some law students in the mainland. She looks forward to learning more about the legal sector in Hong Kong, in order to better prepare herself to handle cases that involve laws of the three places.
Jason Lou, another third-year student from the FLL, says that there are two political systems and three customs territories in the Greater Bay Area, which present many legal conflicts to be solved. Lou predicts that many people will be more and more inclined towards arbitration instead of lawsuits, because the former is much less time-consuming, which is important to business people who believe that ‘Time is money’. These people would rather spend more money hiring a private arbitrator to solve the conflicts, and this in turn will drive up the demand for legal professionals conversant with the laws in the three places.
Gaining Firsthand Knowledge of Mainland China
Apart from high-tech companies, HC students have also visited institutions in the cultural and creative industry, entrepreneurial bases, and government departments. Some of them even visited the control room at Guangzhou South Railway Station. Prof Mok says the HC will continue to organise visits to mainland China in order to increase the students’ understanding of China’s development and to identify areas for potential collaboration.
